Toothbrush



June 21, 1949. w s-r 2,473,773

I'OOTHBRUSH Filed Nov. 16, 1945 7 mmvro e.

arr WeJif' mar/16 Patented June 21, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOOTHBRUSH Harry D. West, Bay City, Mich, assignor of onehalf to Eleanor Kushmaul, Saginaw, Mich.

Application November 16, 1945, Serial No. 629,151

2 Claims.

My invention relates to a tooth brush and has for its prime object the provision of a tooth brush wherein the head of the brush carries a plurality of bristles with a combined bufiing, polishing, and massaging element located directly adjacent the outer end of the bristle section so that a entle massaging action is set up when the teeth are brushed, or by means of which the gums may be independently massaged and circulation stimulated if desired.

Another object is to provide a tooth brush including a soft rubber massaging element carried on the outer end of the head of the brush, which element is freely flexible so that it readily accommodates itself to the shape of the users teeth and gum structure.

Another object is to design a combination tooth brush and massaging element which can be very easily and economically manufactured and assembled.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportion and minor details of construction, without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of, the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of my improved tooth brush.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, detail, side-elevational view of the massaging element, the broken lines illustrating the flexing of the head of said element.

Fi 3 is a transverse, sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing in which I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 indicates the handle of a tooth brush which is provided with a head 6 as usual, and bristles 1 are secured in said head in any desired or conventional manner.

A massage element 8 is provided on the head 6 as shown, said head being suitably recessed as at 9 to receive the enlarged base ll] of the element 8, and suitable rubber cement or other securing means (not shown), is used to securely anchor the element in the head.

The reduced neck section H is preferably =circular in cross section and connects the base [0 with the massage head l2, said head being of substantially wedge shape and of the same Width as the bristle section I, the upper face tapering forwardly, with the corners rounded as shown, to eliminate any possibility of bruising or injury to the gums.

The upper face of the head I2 is slightly concave or dished as indicated at 13, and in use, this dished portion, when placed in facial contact with the gum, forms a vacuum or suction, tending to further stimulate circulation of blood in the gums, the front end of the head being rounded as shown to simulate the tip of a finger.

In use, my improved tooth brush is manipulated so that the bristles serve to clean the teeth the same as the bristles on a conventional tooth brush; the tip end of the massage element, however, engages the gums and teeth at the gum line, the tip end of the head being readily bendable to follow the contour of the gums to massage in much the same manner as can be done with the tips of the fingers so that blood circulation in the gums is stimulated and the massaging movement further buffs and polishes the teeth as the massaging progresses, the reduced neck 1 I permitting free bending of the head section l2 in any direction, and the massaging action can be as gentle or as severe as desired.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided a convenient tooth brush and massage element that is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

What I claim is:

1. In a toothbrush, the combination of a body member including a handle, bristles projecting from said body member, a horizontally disposed, wedge-shaped, smooth, soft rubber massaging element mounted on the body element with the thick end of the wedge-shaped element located adjacent the front end of the bristles, said element being formed with a centrally disposed reduced neck section intermediate the body member and the wedge-shaped section to permit easy, universal movement of the upper wedge-shaped section of the massage element when the brush is in use.

2. The construction as defined in claim 1 in which the upper face of the wedge-shaped section is dished, the thin front end being rounded to simulate the tip of a finger of a persons hand.

HARRY D. WEST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,796,893 McVeigh Mar. 17, 1931 2,029,031 Novick Jan. 28, 1936 2,196,284 Ackerman Apr. 9, 1940 2,253,210 Psiharis Aug. 19, 1941 

